


A bit of catharsis in Akira

by upwise



Category: Akira (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon - Manga, Flash Fiction, Gen, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 19:22:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17534696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/upwise/pseuds/upwise
Summary: A little unseen moment near the end.





	A bit of catharsis in Akira

**Author's Note:**

> This is a few years old. I've resisted the urge to edit.

 

Kaneda stands on a concrete slab atop the great pile of rubble. Kei kneels next to him, exhausted. It's over. They look out over the city, out to the ocean. Clouds ply the distance.

Kaneda looks down. He says, "They're all gone..."

Kei keeps staring out. Then she glances to her right, to the south. Her eyes widen. The corners of her mouth turn up in a smile, the first in what feels like a very long time. "Look...!"

Kaneda glances too. "Hmm?"

From the tower of debris, they can see far into the countryside. Neo-Tokyo's dense cityscape diminishes and fades into highways and greenery. Glass and asphalt give way to rocks, farmhouses, trees, raw coastline. There are hills in the distance. Rivers. Towns. The outside world.

For a long moment, there is just that, and the whistling of the wind.

 

 

Kaneda sits down next to Kei, his legs under him. 

"Hnh." Kaneda keeps looking out as he asks, "Have you ever been out of the city?"

Kei looks at him. "Have I ever been... out there?"

"Yeah."

"No. I've never been outside Neo-Tokyo."

"Me neither. Well, once--school field trip to a factory, or some bullshit." Kaneda pushes down a sudden thought. 

Kei laughs once, hoarsely. "Ow." Kaneda looks at her. She tries to clear her throat. "Acch." Kaneda's eyes soften. 

Kei turns to meet his gaze, then looks down. "They'll be coming. From the outside. The Americans. The whole world."

"Aw, no, don't tell me that!" He scoots closer to her. She keeps looking down. "C'mon, I was just thinking. Not of leaving. I know there's still... things that I gotta do. I was thinking of where they... went off to..."

Now Kaneda looks down. He mouths a name. It's Kei's turn to look at him and scoot over. She closes her eyes and leans into him. He wraps a trembling arm around her shoulders. Her eyelids tighten and her face begins to contort in grief. She takes big, shaky breaths. Kaneda responds in kind, as if resonating with her, gasping at the weight of everything that has happened. He wraps his other arm around her and holds her as tight as he can. She pushes against him and shoves her head into the crook of his neck. They strain together against the flood of emotion, breathing into each other.

It passes. The grief abates. The wind picks up and dies down again. They sit, silent.

Their positions relax. Kaneda doesn't clutch her so tightly, Kei doesn't dig into him with as much force. Instead, they rest against each other. They relish the feeling of finally being together, touching each other. Kei whispers, "Kaneda..." Kaneda smiles and whispers her name back to her. "Kei..."


End file.
